World leaders were greeted by a lavish display from Vladimir Putin at Russia's G20 summit today with a decadent ball which felt a world away from the realities on the ground in Syria.

Women dressed in elaborate Marie Antoinette style costumes met the world's most powerful men and women in a display which seemed to be a celebration of luxury at the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg.

The images were somewhat removed from the kind of photographs the leaders will be poring over tomorrow when they discuss evidence of the horrifying chemical attacks in Syria which killed 1,400 innocent civilians including children.

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War and Peace: President Barack Obama was greeted by women in aristocratic dress at the party which seemed to have the questionable theme of decadence while the summit's key topic are poverty and war

Time to relax? President Obama looked uncomfortable as he walked to the venue where leaders were encouraged to unwind after a hard day of politics

Civil: The dinner table of the G20 summit at Peterhof Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where the G20 summit is taking place

Revelry: Actors in costumes arrive at the Peterhof Palace where heads of state meet for a working dinner as part of the G20 summit

The night of revelry saw British
Prime Minister David Cameron quaffing wine while Putin placed a
gentlemanly blanket over Angela Merkel's shoulders suggested a thawing
of relations between the leaders.

However, if this was peace earlier in the day war still raged.

Aggressive public statements emerged from both President Obama and Putin's camps as both attempt to influence the global community and win support for their opposing positions on Syrian intervention.

Putin greeted Obama with a thin smile
and a businesslike handshake earlier in the day, a clear sign of the
strains between them.

President Obama said he was convinced that the chemical attack in Damascus last month was the work of the Syrian government and reiterated his position that the world must intervene to prevent further attacks.

U.S. President Barack Obama (left) has repeatedly clashed with Putin over Syria. French President Francois Hollande, second left, speaks with British PM David Cameron

Fireworks and a light and water show illuminate during the G-20 summit

The opulence of the surroundings was not lost on one Twitter user, who posted: 'Let them eat yellowcake (a type of Uranium ore): Versailles revisited'

The extravagant show and air of festivity sat at odds with the gravity of discussions

The threat of missiles over the Mediterranean is weighing on world leaders meeting on the shores of the Baltic this week, and eclipsing economic battles that usually dominate when the G-20 world economies meet

Fireworks are seen during an extravagant musical fountain show for G20 heads of state

The luxurious setting and the seemingly civil ambience belies the simmering tensions and rivalry that have dogged the G20 summit in Russia

She
said there was 'no viable path forward in this Security Council' and
accused Russia of holding it hostage. Moscow has signaled it would veto
any resolution on the use of force unless Washington produced stronger
proof.

Obama has asked Congress to approve military action and France has said it is ready to support U.S. intervention.

His aides said he would
set out his views at the leaders' dinner and hoped to build support for
military action, although they acknowledged a consensus might be hard to
find.

Long after midnight, there was still no word from officials on how the dinner discussion had gone.

Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile
portrayed the 'camp of supporters of a strike on Syria' as divided, and
said: 'It is impossible to say that very many states support the idea of
a military operation'.

Thirsty work: British Prime Minister David Cameron enjoyed a drink as Putin sipped a hot drink

Cold war: Putin came to Angela Merkel's aid, placing a blanker over her shoulders

All business: Despite his gentlemanly act Merkel continued to talk seriously with the President - a sign that the party was just for show

European contingent: (L-R) British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy

Isolated? Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in Peterhof garden during the summit

There was also tension between Russia
and Britain, after President Putin's official spokesman Dimitry Peskov
reportedly wrote the UK off as 'just a small island no-one pays any
attention to'.

In an
astonishing attack, Vladimir Putin mocked the UK's size and influence
and boasted that Soviet oligarchs had 'bought Chelsea'.

It was unclear whether this was a reference to the exclusive London borough or the football club.